Out of Control

By Zachariah Bennett

The select stories contained in this book are 100% true and well worth the ninety-nine cents. Absolutely unbelievable are the antics that the author concocted to gain entrance into any place that hosted live music, in the NYC area, over a span of 25 years. No venue was safe; from stadiums to rock clubs and everywhere in between: coliseums, arenas, concert halls, you name it.
Now attending said performances would be an adequate experience for your average person, not Zachariah. He had to meet the band. And in most cases he did. Some of the A-list celebrities he has met or come into contact with are: Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, Barry White, B.B. King, etc...to name just a few.
These outrageous tales have been told and repeated at parties and social gatherings for years and now for the first time ever, they are put down in writing for your pleasure.
If you like light reading, you’ll enjoy this collection.
If you like fun, enthralling stories of behind the music scene in New York, over the last few decades, you’ll love this collection.
If you like to read about old New York, when it was gritty and crime-ridden, clubs like CBGB’s, Tramps, Academy, Roseland, Malibu, plus others, were the place to be, you’ll really love this collection.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zachariah Bennett
• Release date: Feb 6, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301730544

Zachariah Bennett

Zachariah Bennett stepped off a bus at Port Authority bus terminal on September 25th, 1985, smack dab in the middle of Hurricane Gloria. He came in with the storm and stayed. He moved to NYC from Europe, where he had been living for the last few years while traveling to numerous countries. Raised out west between California and Nevada, he had spent time in both foster homes and juvenile halls. Now twenty-two years old, he was ready for anything NYC had to offer. The city was dangerous then, yet electrifying. Nothing could stop him from his quest to explore new places, attend live shows, meet new people, partying the night away and in general making the scene. Usually he was able to get comps and/or put on guestlist(s), but there were also those few times that he had no contact or hook-up what-so-ever so he had to be creative on how he was going to obtain entrance into places. Bend the rules was his main rule. Some of the things he has carried out to get into concerts are: in through the out door, climbing over a fence, scalping tickets, entering through the employee entrance, scooting under another fence, cutting through a kitchen, using old backstage passes from prior tours, etc...whatever it took. Thirty years later, Summer 2015, he is still running these NYC streets, going to shows for free, most recently, U2 at The Garden (He loves what they did with the place with the whole renovation thing.) and Bad Religion at The Bowery Ballroom, sold -out, guestlist AND drink tickets waiting at the door. Keep on rockin' in the free world.

Book preview

OUT OF CONTROL

Zacariah Bennett

.

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Zachariah bennett

First digital Edition

License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

Disclaimer

DO NOT TRY ANY OF THIS AT HOME! Seriously, do not attempt any of what you are about to read anywhere. Do not try sneaking into any stadium, arena, club, or any other type of venue. Although most of the time I gained access by legitimate means, there were a few times when I downright snuck in, especially back in the '80s and '90s. It was a different era. Everyone had a friend who worked somewhere and could get them in one way or another. These are, for the most part, bygone days. Now there are security procedures and cameras everywhere. If you get caught, you could get arrested and charged with trespassing or theft of services for starters. If the ticket is pricey, it could even be a felony! So if there is a sold-out show that you desperately want to see but don't have tickets for, just find another way in. Get yourself on the guest list or lowball the scalpers by waiting until the first band starts. Just don't sneak in.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Working it Backstage Style: The Early Years

George Thorogood & The Delaware Destroyers

The Rascals: Reunion

Eric Clapton: Slowhand

Bon Jovi: The Homecoming, June 12th, 1989

INXS: August '88

Pink Floyd: A Momentary Lapse of Reason

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Nassau Coliseum

Van Halen: All over the World

John Cougar Mellencamp: Three Names, Three Concerts, Three States

Depeche Mode: All over the World

Robert Plant & Cheap Trick: The Same Bill

The Cheap Trick Half

The Robert Plant Half

Chapter 2

More Working It: The Hotel Years

The Rolling Stones: Rehearsal for Steel Wheels, 1989

B.B. King: The Grammys '96

The The: Their Hotel Rooms

Rod Stewart: Crisscrossing Paths

Tupac Shakur: A Brief Interaction

Lennox Lewis: NYC, late '90s

The Boss: Tunnel of Love Tour

Barry White: The Theater at The Garden

Chapter 3

Anything Can Happen in a NY Minute

The Ramones: I Want to be Sedated.

Koko Taylor: Downtown '92

Big Audio Dynamite: Five Nights Straight at Irving Plaza

Shea Stadium: Opening Day '91

Queen Latifah: Her Show, Chelsea Studios '99

Alanis Morissette: Tramps Bar, Summertime '96

AC/DC: On the Set of Private Parts

The Beach Boys: 4th of July, Yankee Stadium

Chapter 4

Volunteer Working It: The Lifebeat Era

MTV Beach House: L.A., Summer '97

Trainspotting World Premier: Loews Theater '96

Skate Aid: Chelsea Piers '96

Counter Aid: Hanging with Biggie at HMV Records '95

Urban Aid: At the Garden in '95

Chapter 5

Still At It: The New Millennium and Beyond

Sting: Central Park '00

The Dandy Warhols: The Blackout of '03

Scissor Sisters: The Making of a Music Video

U2: It's a Beautiful Day for a Bike Ride

Twisted Sister: Point Lookout Beach

Krishna Das: Feeling the Peace at Webster Hall

Z100's Jingle Ball '07

Stone Temple Pilots: End of Summer at Jones Beach Theater

Jay-Z / Eminem Yankee Stadium: Hottest Ticket in Town

Billy Idol: Hammerstein Ballroom

The Allman Brothers Band: Roseland Ballroom

Acknowledgments

Introduction

MY FIRST BACKSTAGE PASS WAS FOR FOREIGNER, AT THE COW PALACE IN SAN FRANCISCO, ON JANUARY 26, 1982. I was eighteen. It answers the why, the how, and the where it all got started for me. I was going to the concert with a friend of mine. Here we were, two white kids from the suburbs taking the Greyhound bus almost three hours to the big city. From there, we immediately got into a cab—off to the arena! Within five minutes of exiting the taxi, I was mugged and pick-pocketed while walking through the parking lot. I was stupid. I had the tickets inside their envelope in my top pocket.

They stuck out a bit, so I was a target. I noticed a group of individuals just standing there whispering among themselves. Next thing I knew, this really big guy slammed into me like a body check in hockey. He grabbed the tickets, sending me stumbling back, handing them off behind his back to another one of these individuals in the group that went running past. The whole act was choreographed very well. It took less than one minute total. The rest of the group was laughing as loud as they could, saying stuff like, You want your tickets back? We'll sell them to you! They started laughing even harder to the point of sounding like cackling hens.

My friend was pretty shaken up. She was like, Let's just go have a nice dinner in the city. But I was on a mission. I went looking for more tickets. I met a guy who was selling before-show backstage passes. I didn't know how he got his hands on them, and didn't care. All I knew is I wanted one. I bought two for fifty dollars and we were on our way.

As we walked, peeling the backs off our passes and affixing them to our jackets, I kept thinking, 'I hope these are real. I hope they work. I hope I didn't just get ripped off again.' I placed mine right above the pocket that once held the tickets. When we walked up to the door, the ushers and security guards stepped aside and let us right in. Holy Cow Palace! I loved this feeling. I knew right then and there, I needed to get my hands on more of these. They were like gold!

It was time to test the limits of the pass. I bee-lined it backstage only to be stopped and informed that it was just a before-show backstage pass. I wasn't disappointed at all, because I wasn't even sure if I was getting in just ten minutes earlier. They were really great performing all their older hits: Hot Blooded, Feels like the First Time, Double Vision, Dirty White Boy. And now their newer ones: Urgent, Juke Box Hero, and Waiting for a Girl like You.

I saw Foreigner again during the Mountain Air '82 Concert at Calaveras County Fairgrounds, the very same place that holds the annual frog-jumping jubilee contest that Mark Twain famously wrote about. A huge festival takes place there annually. That year it was Foreigner and Loverboy co-headlining. They had the two top albums of the year: Foreigner with 4 and Loverboy with Get Lucky. Quarterflash (Harden My Heart) opened. That day I caught Mick Jones's pick; he's the guitarist for Foreigner.

He flung it into the crowd of more than twenty thousand. It wasn't even close to me when he let it go. A gust of wind turned it my direction. It must have been the brisk mountain air. It fluttered right to me, bounced in and out of my palm, and I dropped it! A mad scramble ensued on the ground and I came up victorious. I couldn't believe it, my first guitar pick.

I carried it with me everywhere I went, showed it to everyone I knew, and then some. I played with it, tested its flexibility, and within a week broke it. I tried to Krazy Glue it back together, but it was never the same. My first backstage pass and my first guitar pick, from the same band, from two different venues, months apart in 1982. What were the odds?

Three weeks after the Mountain Air concert, I joined the United States Air Force. I saw quite a lot of bands during that time. Starting off in Biloxi, Mississippi—you do get the blues when you leave there—where I saw The Who, ('82-Their first Farewell Tour) Heart, John Cougar Mellencamp, and Judas Priest, during the Screaming for Vengeance Tour of '83. Rob Halford, the lead vocalist, drove a motorcycle onto the stage during the show. It was great.

Then it was off to Europe. The bands I saw there included The Scorpions, twice, in their homeland of Germany, playing at their pique during the 'Love at First Sting' tour. Joan Jett opened both times. She rocked. I also saw: Bruce Springsteen, Hall & Oats, Quiet Riot, Rush, Nazareth, Meat Loaf, Nena, Men At Work, Little River Band, Loverboy, Deep Purple, Santana, SOS Band, and the Platters (rhythm-and-blues royalty).

I was there in 1984 when Bon Jovi opened for Kiss on Halloween. One concert I went to in 1985 was at the medieval ruins of Donnington Castle near the English town of Newbury. That was a scene, a hundred thousand people in one spot. ZZ Top headlined. It was the 'Eliminator' Tour. "Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man." They brought the Eliminator Car—hoisted it above the crowd by helicopter!

They flew it all over the stadium so everyone could get a good look at it. That was definitely a first. I know of no other band that has flown a car over the audience. It was really cool. Afterwards, this little countryside town was jammed with thousands of cars. People sat around bonfires and played soccer all night until the roads cleared by the morning. Those are the bands that I remember.

I returned to the United States and moved to New York. It might have been a few lines from a Foreigner song -Long, Long Way From Home- that aided my decision: I left the small town for the apple in decay. It was my destiny. It was my need to be.

I moved to Long Beach, New York, approximately thirty-seven miles east of the heart of New York City, on Long Island. I moved there to be near the beach and the boardwalk. I was close enough to Manhattan that I could ride the train a short fifty minutes whenever the need arose. I loved living near the ocean, after a few years I moved to Manhattan.

My first apartment, I purposely picked to be close enough to walk to Madison Square Garden. I've considered The Garden to be my front yard ever since I moved to the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood in the early nineties. I always referred to it as such.

Now there's a big marketing campaign with the slogan Make the Garden Your Playground constantly running on it's marquee. Here I've been making the Garden my playground for the last two decades. I've been to almost every kind of event: the Knicks, the Rangers, the Liberty, boxing matches, college basketball, the Westminster Dog Show, plays, and the only time the Garden hosted the Grammy Awards in 2003—plus countless concerts. (That's a whole other book; events at Madison Square Garden and how I got in.)

But back to the day I arrived in New York. It was September 25, 1985—the day Hurricane Gloria slammed into Long Island. I arrived at Penn Station and was told that train service would soon be suspended. I might not make it out. I did. The ride was spooky. The wind was howling and it was raining sheets of water. We were the last train out. When we finally made it to Long Beach, the scene was alarming to say the least. There were almost no cars on the road and the stoplights were swaying so fast they looked like they could snap at any moment.

The next day was my first full day in New York. I opened the front door and ventured out, the streets were covered with water and debris, and downed tree branches everywhere. I was in water up to my knees at some points. Other people were walking about too, walking really slowly through the water because you couldn't see where the next step was. The first cross street I came to was Lindell Boulevard. I decided to walk a few blocks north to the bay.

When I got there I looked toward New York City and immediately saw the Twin Towers. It was my first time seeing them —so majestic in the western skyline— even from thirty-seven miles away. After a while I headed toward the boardwalk and beach on the opposite side of the island. As I walked I noticed that some streets had very little flooding while others were submerged under two feet or more. On one street there was a picnic table, plastic garbage can, and Volkswagen bug floating by. Trucks with big tires were the only vehicles on the road.

I continued on my way very cautiously to the beach, and what an incredible sight to behold when I got there. The sun was just breaking through a bit. The waves were big and fast, crashing into the shoreline. Adventurous surfers were out there riding the waves.

There was foam everywhere you looked, billowing off the ocean in five-foot-high plumes just rolling with the wind. It was low tide and the water was finally receding. Things were beginning to return to normal, except for the fact that I was now here. I came in with the storm, and I stayed.

My first year here I hit the ground running. I learned as much about New York and the surrounding areas as I possibly could. There were and still are a lot of great radio stations in New York and I tuned them all in, from one end of the dial to the other. I went to all the clubs that were mentioned on the radio and met some of the D.J.'s and radio personalities. I started attending a concert a month. The first was Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. A few friends from work were going and took me along. They were huge fans.

I had never heard of him or them, but I wanted to learn about more bands and different places. The show was at the old Ritz (now Webster Hall). I got the history of Southside Johnny on the drive into the city: That he's from Asbury Park. That him and Bruce Springsteen are friends and used to perform together up and down the Jersey Shore; and how they both have a classic rock-and-roll sound with lots of sax. I remember enjoying the show.

The second one I went to in New York was at Madison Square Garden. This was to be it—the most famous arena in the world, and I was finally there, at The Garden. Roger Daltrey was performing; he was touring the McVicar soundtrack. I wanted to hear Free Me which he played very well. I bought a ticket from a scalper to get in. It was a bad time then, on the streets of New York, in the mid-eighties, height of the crack epidemic, not too safe. This one scalper was trying to lure me into a darkened corner by saying Come over here, I don't want the police to see me dealing on the street. And there was nobody around. I wanted to stay under a street lamp at least.

I got away from him and found me a legitimate scalper. I returned